State plan to free prisoners early worries residents, police

By Dirk Perrefort, Staff Writer

Published 1:00 am, Friday, December 4, 2009

DANBURY -- A decision to let convicted felons -- some violent -- out of prison more than a month before their sentences are scheduled to end has some officials worried about the safety of local residents.

The state has reinstituted the early furlough program -- scrapped about two years ago in the fallout from the murder of three family members in Cheshire -- as a cost-savings measure. It allows inmates to be released up to 45 days early.

"It sends the wrong message to people that we are not serious about addressing criminal behavior," said Danbury Police Chief Al Baker. "Letting people out of prison early, before their sentences are completed, is certainly a public safety concern."

One of those who could be released early, depending on the program's parameters, is Elvis Agramonte, a 37-year-old Danbury man who pleaded guilty last year to a charge of first-degree sexual assault for raping a female acquaintance.

Agramonte is set to be released from prison in March, according to the Department of Correction Web site, but with the early furlough program in place he could be released as early as next month.

During Agramonte's sentencing, the victim talked about how reluctant she was to come forward at the time the incident occurred.

"At first I was afraid to say anything," she said in court during his sentencing hearing, "but now I'm glad you'll never be able to do this again."

Melanie Danyliw, director of education and training for the Danbury Women's Center, which provides counseling for sexual assault victims, said she is concerned about the message the early furlough program sends to rapists, who often fail to take responsibility for their actions.

"Sexual offenders and batterers do not like to take responsibility and often minimize what they've done," she said. "If we let them out of prison early because we can't afford to pay for it, then what kind of message is that sending?"

Danyliw said she hopes the state notifies victims when a prisoner is released, so they can take precautions, such as getting a restraining order against the perpetrator.

"If the state releases them early, without any kind of assessment, I would be worried that they might re-offend," Danyliw said.

State Rep. Arthur O'Neill, R-Southbury, a ranking member of the legislature's Judiciary Committee, said if the early furlough program is carefully planned it could save the state money and ease prison overcrowding.

If it's not properly planned, he said, it could be a disaster waiting to happen.

"It's never a good idea to release someone from prison early unless they've exhibited good behavior or are a candidate for a number of early release programs the state has available," O'Neill said.

He added that most prisoners who commit another crime after their release do so within their first months of freedom. As a result, programs that provide job training, housing, and substance abuse and mental health treatment are crucial.

"Without these programs they are being set up for failure," he said.

O'Neill added that many of the treatment programs available to former prisoners have had limited availability in recent years -- even before the state had a $560 million budget deficit.

"Newtown's prison is a very unique prison where we have built an infrastructure to help the needs of the mentally ill," said state Rep. Chris Lyddy. "We need to continue to operate in a way to help the best interests of the prisoners and also the public safety."

He added, however, that the state shouldn't sacrifice public safety for budget reasons.

"We definitely need to put (public safety) at the top of our priority list," he said. "Once we start jeopardizing that, we need to decide what we are doing."